


Long Enough for Her to Run Across Safely

by zarabithia



Category: DC - Comicsverse, Marvel 616, Young Avengers
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, Community: au abc, Gen, mothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-02
Updated: 2010-09-02
Packaged: 2017-10-26 12:49:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/283322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarabithia/pseuds/zarabithia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On Kate Bishop's first full night out as a hero, her mother watches from afar and worries, along with another hero's mother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Long Enough for Her to Run Across Safely

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the "Bangsian" prompt @ au_abc

_  
"I cannot forget my mother. She is my bridge. When I needed to get across, she steadied herself long enough for me to run across safely." ~Renita Weems  
_

Tuesdays were generally reserved for the weekly girls versus boys baseball game. As much as Thelma enjoyed those games - in particular, as much as she enjoyed watching Thomas Wayne and Jor-El's faces scrunch up in annoyance each time Sarah Rogers or Mary Grayson slid into home and scored another win for the girl's team - this particular Tuesday required Thelma's presence elsewhere.

Fortunately - no. _Unfortunately_ , there was hardly a member of her team who didn't understand. Most of them had been there at some point in their afterlives, and Lara merely gave her a sympathetic hug before substituting Maria Stark in Thelma's place in the game.

Her responsibility cleared, Thelma found Eleanor Bishop exactly where she'd been all day: kneeling and watching her daughter as closely as she could, given the distance between them.

"How'd she do?" Thelma asked, kneeling down beside her. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but then, Thelma supposed there was a reason for that. It wasn't supposed to be comfortable - you weren't supposed to spend an eternity watching over the living. Wait for them, perhaps, but not devote _everything_ to them.

Some did, of course. But that was a fast track to going purely crazy. Thelma had learned that early on, and she'd received a reminder the day that Barbara had been shot. When you could only watch, but never act, never hold, never protect...

"She's stubborn," Eleanor answered softly. "As stubborn as I remember, and she wants to help so much."

"Then you should proud of the woman you raised."

Eleanor turned to look at her - her daughter's eyes, Thelma noted, because those were the kind of things she paid attention to these days.

"She's not invulnerable. That costume might be better than most the female heroes wear, but it sure as hell leaves plenty of opportunity for someone to get in a lucky shot."

"Even if she dressed in armor from head to toe, someone might still get in a lucky shot," Thelma answered bluntly. It was, perhaps, not as kind as she'd meant to be.

Eleanor's eyes softened in momentary sympathy before returning to her daughter. Thelma watched Kate Bishop curl up on her purple bedsheets, one hand cradling her cell phone while the other finished wrapping a leg wound. It didn't particularly look like a bad wound to Thelma, though she supposed Eleanor felt differently.

It was definitely a newbie wound, but those were to be expected on the first day.

"Her first day, and she's hurt already," Eleanor said. "There's going to be a lot more to come."

"Yes," Thelma said quietly, because through Barbara's eyes Thelma had seen daughter after daughter struggle, even if none had been related to Thelma by blood.

"And the worst of it is that I taught her that. I dragged her to the soup kitchens and to the Planned Parenthoods. To the foreign countries that needed our money more than we did, and to the schools in our country that did too. If I hadn't -"

"If you hadn't, she could be perfectly content in a nice, safe corporate office, like her father. Or in a lavish dress, like her sister," Thelma answered. "Is that the life you'd want for Kate?"

Eleanor glanced one last time at her daughter and then shook her head. "No. I _am_ proud of her, just ... worried."

"They'll be plenty of worry left over tomorrow. For now, let's leave Kate to her gossipy phone call with Scott's daughter." Thelma smiled down at the carefree girl, so oblivious to her mother's concern. "After all, it was a hard first day of being a hero. She's earned the right to some privacy, wouldn't you say?"

Eleanor grinned wryly. "Privacy and teenagers is a perfect recipe for _very bad_ things to happen."

"Only if they're very lucky," Thelma chuckled. "Let her have her phone call, El. We'll have chess."

Eleanor gave one Kate one last longing look, before standing up and offering her hand to Thelma. "You going to kick my ass at that game again?"

"Well," Thelma answered, linking hands with Eleanor before rising. "I'm certainly going to _try._ "  



End file.
